34 THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THE CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL

Tens of thousands of people will attend the Cheltenham Festival this week held at Prestbury Gloucestershire which is just over 8 miles from Basepoint Tewksbury. The event runs from 14th - 17th March and is an absolute show stopper in Gloucestershire. We have all the latest tips, travel news and gossip to keep you #CheltenhamReady at all times

£100,000,000 - money The Festival brings into Gloucestershire each year.
£4,150,000 - record amount of prize money on offer at The Festival 2016 - the most of any Jump festival in the world.
£1,000,000 - The Jockey Club 'Chase Triple Crown' bonus over and above the race's prize money that Cue Card will win his connections with victory in the Timico Cheltenham Gold Cup (split £650k to his owner Jean Bishop, £150k to trainer Colin Tizzard, £100k to stable staff at the Tizzard stables and £100k to jockey Paddy Brennan).
£575,000 - prize money available for the Timico Cheltenham Gold Cup.
265,000 - pints of Guinness knocked back by spectators at The Festival 2015.
120,000 - bottles of wine drunk at The Festival 2015.
105,000 - people using Cheltenham Spa train station over the four days of racing.
80,000 - number of movements between the racecourse and the town on the shuttle bus service.
68,000 - maximum capacity at Cheltenham on Cheltenham Gold Cup Day (when all temporary facilities are open).
62,000 - average attendance over the four-day period of The Festival.
45,000 - bread rolls eaten at The Festival 2015.
45,000 - afternoon teas served to customers at The Festival 2015.
40,000 - hospitality guests served over the four days of The Festival.
38,000m2 - volume of space that is built for the four days in the Tented Village and the triple decker that sits alongside the racecourse.
36,500 - vehicles parked over the four days.
21,120 - distance, in feet, run during the National Hunt Chase, The Festival's longest race.
12,320 - yards of running rails surrounding the track.
20,000 - bottles of house Champagne sold at The Festival.
8,000+ - gallons of tea and coffee served.
6,000 - staff employed over The Festival.
5,000 - bundles of birch used every season.
2001 - the only year, besides the periods during the two World Wars, that The Festival has been cancelled (due to foot and mouth disease).
1934 - the year Golden Miller became the first horse to win both the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Grand National in a single season.
800 - members of the press accredited for The Festival each year.
350 - chefs on site.
£150,000,000 - bet on The Festival every year.
£135,000,000 - what The Jockey Club has spent on facilities at Cheltenham in the last 35 years.
50 - staff coaches per day, sourced from all over the country, as far away as Liverpool, London, Cardiff, Swansea, Birmingham and Coventry.
£45,000,000 - cost of the redevelopment of Cheltenham Racecourse. This project was concluded on time and within budget in November, 2015.
30 - extra flights put on by Ryanair on the Dublin to Birmingham route during The Festival period (around 20,000 customers will use Ryanair).
28 - National Hunt races run at The Festival.
22 - fences jumped during the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
9 - tons of potatoes consumed during The Festival.
8 - Guinness-only bars.
7 - most wins by a jockey - Ruby Walsh - in a single year.
6 - most consecutive victories by a horse in any Cheltenham Festival race - Quevega in the David Nicholson Mares' Hurdle between 2009 and 2014.
5 - tons of smoked and fresh salmon consumed at The Festival.
4 - number of feature races run during The Festival, including the Timico Cheltenham Gold Cup, Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase, Stan James Champion Hurdle and Ryanair World Hurdle.
3 - the three-storey temporary structure installed for The Festival, beyond the Guinness Village, is the biggest, three-tiered temporary structure in Europe.
2 - shortest distance raced at The Festival in miles.
Read more: http://www.gloucestershireecho.co.uk/34-things-didn-t-know-Festival-Cheltenham/story-28918121-detail/story.html#ixzz42xckUMOc